This invention relates to computer-implemented tools for supply chain management, and more particularly to three dimensional displays of production schedules.
Computer-implemented enterprise management systems are increasingly being used in factories and other enterprises. Such systems model the enterprise environment and provide plans for producing items to fulfill consumer demand within the constraints of the environment.
Many enterprise management problems can be represented as a constrained optimization problem. For example, consider the problem of sequencing a set of tasks on a single resource in a manufacturing environment. Assume each task has a deadline and that the objective is to schedule each task so that it is completed by its deadline. One way to view this problem is as a search in a space of start times. Under this view, the problem is a constrained optimization problem in which the variables are the start times, the constraint is that no tasks can overlap, and the objective is not missing deadlines. The xe2x80x9coptimizationxe2x80x9d is in terms of one or more objective criteria, such as producing the most inventory, minimizing inventory, and the like.
One type of computer-implemented enterprise management tool is the type often referred to as xe2x80x9csupply chain managementxe2x80x9d. In the simplest sense, the supply chain is the process of creating products for customers. Supply chains span from raw materials to manufacturing, distribution, transportation, warehousing, and product sales. When the number of products, resources, and operations is large, managing the supply chain can be complex.
An entire supply chain can be single-enterprise, that is, it can exist entirely within a single company. Or it can be multi-enterprise, and span a number of enterprises before a product reaches a customer. Other terms for supply chain management, such as demand chain or value chain management, are sometimes used, but generally, these terms mean managing resources and tasks to transform raw materials into finished goods for consumers in an efficient manner.
Because of the complexity of supply chain management, it is important to present information to the user in a comprehensible manner. Good presentations, both display and printed reports, are vital to the usefulness of the supply chain management tool.
One aspect of the invention is a method of providing a three-dimensional display of a production schedule. Different displays are provided with different levels of detail. One level of display includes a display of one or more available-capacity rectangles along a first axis, each having a width along said first axis and a depth along a second axis, each available-capacity rectangle associated with a time period of said production schedule, said width representing available capacity as a proportion of said time period. At least one of the available-capacity rectangles has at least one capacity-consuming rectangle layered above it, each capacity-consuming rectangle having three dimensions along said first and second axes and along a third axis, such that the width of each said capacity-consuming rectangle represents capacity consumed in terms of time, and such that said height of each said capacity-consuming rectangle represents production volume. The capacity-consuming rectangles can be setup rectangles or production rectangles, ordered along the x-axis in the sequence in which they occur.
The three-dimensional representation permits more information on more production activities to be displayed simultaneously on the screen than is possible with a two dimensional display. It also permits the simultaneous display of three measures significant to production: time consumed, quantity produced, and cost of production.